v Sussex @ Taunton TSL2 30 May 2005

Scorecard

So, we are preparing for a one day game, after our first Championship win, with some injuries in key positions and doubt over when our errant captain will finally arrive and then when he will be going home.  The club say they were VERY clear to Smith and his agent about the itinerary.  But it isn't the man and his lacky that matter here is it?  If his board say he goes home, then he goes home...leaving us without an international, and a captain for the whole of August and the final matches in September.  Looks like you'll be standing up to be counter a bit more often than you planned Rob T!!

Anyway, what about the Monday game?  Well according to sources and reports on the old official one, Matt Wood may have got a reprieve after a poor second innings performance in the CC2 game against Northants.  It seems that Sanath got smacked on the hand by a beamer and may be doubtful for a berth. The squad named also includes one Andrew Caddick but he may still be doubtful because of his side strain, a problem he is joined in having by Richard Johnson which is a real blow after his good showing away in the week.

Nixon McLean will play if Caddy  is still doubtful and we can welcome Simon Francis back to the fold after his finger injury.  He'll take Johnno's place.  They've named 13 so if these two injuries push people out of the frame then one assumes the rest will play.  So the team will be;

Burns, Francis, Wood (SJ), Parsons K, Hildreth, Blackwell, Laraman, Turner, Andrew,Francis, McLean (Caddick).

We're on a high but Sussex are no pushovers, they have money and players and will come expecting to win.  It will be interesting to see how the news of the captain's problems will affect the high of last week and whether this unit is coming together without the help of Mr Smith.  If we have to do without his influence over the last quarter of the season, then we might as well start standing up for ourselves now!!

The Game

No Caddick, No Jayasuriya, No McLean (neck injury I think).  Instead we give a place to Gareth Andrew, Michael Parsons and Matt Wood.  It's not strong but it can do the job, the place is full, the sky is blue and we win the toss and decide to bat in front of the full house.  It's going to be a full game against a side that has a fair bowling attack (Kirtley, Lewry, Martin-Jenkins and Mushy) and some decent batsmen as well (Ward, Adams, Goodwin).  And off we go!!

Burns and Wood start for us and are faced by a Dutch guy called Van Der Wath..never heard of him, but I have now.  So has Burns who chases a high bouncer and is caught behind off ball four and we are 1 for 1.  John Francis also looks a little at odds today, especially to Kirtley, who he wafts at in the fourth and we are 10 for 2...all a bit familiar.

It is at this point a theme begins which will last for the rest of the day.  The 'support' behind us starts on it's afternoon long criticism of everything Somerset.  Now before you get the wrong idea, these are not Sussex visitors. These are long term, long travelled Somerset 'stalwarts'.  They travel from miles away, every week, to find something wrong with everything to do with the home side, they spend hours analysing how much like human waste our coach, manager, Chief Executive, captain, bowlers, batsmen, wicket-keepers, ball boys, mascot, groundsman, tea ladies...in fact everyone are.  They never praise, they never falter, it becomes so monotonous that it becomes background noise which few listen to.  But today it is specifically relevant. (More later)

KP and Matt Wood are already having to re-stabalise and build and we aren't even 5 overs in.  The side are still wearing the 20/20 kit from last year, some with names, some without but I can confirm that the new stuff has finally arrived and has been issued so this should be the last time.  Keith gets off the mark and we manage a massive 12 off the first 30 balls...it doesn't look great.

But, by 10 overs, we seem to have got it back together, Wood looks steady and is getting a grip of the tight bowling of the Sussex change pair, Lewry and Martin-Jenkins. The 50 arrives in the 14th but the visiting unit is very sharp in the field and boundaries aren't exactly flowing. The half-ton partnership comes at 60 off a part-middled boundary and by this time both players are about equal with Woody doing the 'stroke thing' and Parsons K exhibiting the now characteristic 'nurdle'.  Matt starts to hit out with two boundaries in two balls before being bowled by Lewry on 39.  Probably not enough but he did look solid.

Surprisingly, in comes Aaron Laraman who has been promoted up the order.  Pretty pointless really, because next ball he is on his way back after being adjudged LBW with a stride about halfway down the strip.  80 for 4 after 19 overs is not exactly setting the world on fire and with Mushtaq coming on for the first time and James Hildreth striding out, the 'doom police' are in full voice and hyper critical by even their standards.  It gets no better when just before the halfway stage, Keith skies one to RMJ and we are 88 for 5 after 22.2 overs. 

Ian Blackwell joins his middle order mate and partnership pal and we hope for something better.  The 100 arrives dutifully as IB puts Mushy to the boundary in the 25th.  He seems to find the little Pakistani, surprisingly easy to hit and we are a little worried that he'll try one too often with the slippery little man and lose the fight.  Ironic really taking into account what is to come!  Although the two try to push it on, it is still only 118 by the 28th.  Sussex are tight and tenacious and bring Kirtley on to try and break the partnership.  JH shows the usual lack of fear of the big man and occasion but he isn't flowing freely.  Blackwell, on the other hand is starting to fire quite well and deposits Mushtaq into the cemetery in the 29th.  Disaster strikes when Hilda tries the same, he whips one to the Brewhouse boundary and straight into the hands of Yardy.  We are 146 for 6 halfway through the 31st over and the last recognised batsman (and I use that title definitively) comes out in the shape of captain Rob Turner.

150 arrives with a top-edged sweep that drops kindly and then Blackwell suddenly goes up a gear.  At first it is the odd shot - a huge six into the Stragglers takes out a guy's thermos and his wife (and nearly me - I fall the right way, opposite to the arrival of the ball).  He goes to 50 at 168 off a respectable 44balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes - I say respectable because he then cuts loose in the way only a few men in the game can.

Rob is looking the part as partner, the 50 partnership comes in the 38th and he brings the 200 up with a four.  We've been laughing about needing about 270 to make this a game and bantering with our 'fans' behind about the fact that while Blacky is there it is possible.  He must have heard us! 

First it is his captain who smacks two boundaries off 2 balls to get us to 214 at the start of the 41st.  Then the big man absolutely demolishes the reputation of one of the best spinners in the game by putting the first ball into the small scoreboard, the second over the Brewwhouse car park wall, the third over the Stragglers "pavilion'' and the 6th into the same car park.  Four sixes in an over and he could have done it to all 6!!  240 by the end of the 41st.  Two more boundaries in the next over take him to 99 and he then takes us past 250 and gets his ton with a 13 ball second 50 with 42 runs coming from just 8 balls (three fours and FIVE sixes)!!!!!

Sussex have no idea what to do. They can't bowl to him and setting a field is a waste of time, unless they find some 8 foot fielders!  The 42nd is no better - a 6 into the Stragglers that hits someone in the back as it bounces back off the Pedigree sign on top, a majestic four, another to the Stragglers' boundary, then another six over it, a single and the captain hits the boundary with the last ball!!  It is mayhem. 

A 57 ball ton, seven fours and eight sixes and we are at 287 by the end of the 44th over.  How can you not pick this guy for your one day side?  Where is the sense in not having this murderer of bowling in your squad.  The hairs are bristling on the neck because you know you are in the presence of something very special.  It was worth the effort to get out of bed to watch those 57 balls.

James Kirtley is not so sure though!  Adams gives him the last over and he shows remarkable character in putting in a good one.  Rob Turner also shows the same level of character when, on the penultimate ball and needing oonly three for an excellent 50, he calls Ian through for a second run, giving him the last ball and sacrificing his own score for the team.  We finish 3 short of 300.  Blackwell finishes on 134 off 71 balls with 20 boundaries, equally split between fours and sixes.

Absolutely majestic, it was a rare sight to see!!

That was the sublime part.  We now have to defend it.  It needs to be remembered that Blackwell had only put us in a position to make a game of it.  The final total was not a massive one, it was about par for this wicket on this day.  He batted like a god, the rest were not so impressive.

Now the 'fans' start on the bowling, none of the 'primadonnas' (Caddick, Johnson, McLean), it seems, were playing today so we were having to rely on the raw stuff, the youngsters, the 'rubbish' as it was referred to.  Gareth Andrew opened from the OP and Simon Francis from the River and you prayed these relations of the family Pratt would see something tight and aggressive to keep them quiet.  They didn't for over one (it went for 11) but Frank Senior looked the part against Ward and the very impressive Prior.

The Sussex batsmen certainly seemed up for it and they gave Gareth particular punishment with a six into the car park and 27 off the first 4.  It was the old Somerset routine of tight at one end and leaky at the other but Frank S was getting somewhere as he got Ward in the 5th as the opposition reached 40.  But we need a change and Aaron L is drafted in early (6th over), he has already been dismissed by his supporting public as 'garbage' before he bowls a ball and we are, once again, praying for the tight Lazza to turn up for inspection today.  He goes for 7.

There is one person who does stuff his critics today in no uncertain terms.  Rob Turner has taken a lot of stick about his ability to bat and his value to the team.  As the partner of IB he did his full part today and a half century would have been the least he deserved.  He now takes an absolute gem of a catch to a wide ball to send Yardy packing.  Now if he wasn't there, the vital wicket would have still been intact and four byes would have gone on the total.  The bloke can bat and he can keep and we would be a lesser team without him.  Other things...well!!  But give him a break as a cricketer!

AL keeps it relatively tight and they pass 50 in the 8th (way ahead of us).  But Prior keeps plonking them in the River corner and they are going at 6.2 an over by the 10th.  They don't seem to be getting Lazza away very well up to this point but then the Sussex keeper seems to have a moment of vision and deposits him over the OP for his 50.

With 82 on the board, Michael Parsons is brought on at the River in the 15th and bowls decently if not decisively.  The important moment has come as Noddy turns to spin at the OP end and we all remember what happened to Mushy.  They go to 100 off Blackwell's first ball but he seems to be finding something that Mushtaq didn't and he isn't tanked.  What is more, a sharp bit of fielding by James Hildreth in the same over gets rid of Prior as he is run out for an excellent 80 odd.  It's 118 for 3 and we need to put the 'press' on the new batsman....a Mr Goodwin, while the Sussex capain wonders whether it was wise to call his keeper through!

There has been some excellent fielding in many parts of the ground during the game and the Somerset boys should be commended for their part in it.  A brilliant stop by John Francis at mid on and some equally brilliant combination stuff by Mike Burns and Gareth Andrew on the boundary stand out.  But when you need a bit of brilliance to break a bit of deadlock, you turn to Keith Parsons and that is what we do in the 23rd at 143 for 3.  It doesn't come immediately and Adams and Goodwin accumulate steadily against the thrifty KP and the less so AL.

When it comes it is a bit quick.  KP varies the speed, Murray mistimes the drive and the old man dives to the wicket scooping up the return and he's out C&B!!  Now we are into the 'meat' of the Sussex side and although Adams passes 50 with another 6 to the OP, KP has his sights on more wickets and bowls Hopkinson at 191.  Incidently, the Adams 50 was off 68 balls, 5.2 times more balls than IB took to make his second one - thought you might like to know that!!

Ian now puts up the pressure by bowling a maiden for the 33rd over and then the Sussex captain rockets a KP ball into the stratosphere and when it finally comes down, Simon Francis is under it and we watch him depart with 194 up and 6 wickets down.  We are starting to ask questions about the earlier comments of our resident suppporting pessimists as it looks like the game is moving toward the home side.  There is still batting to come but needing 103 off 12 overs is looking decidedly better.  RMJ brings up the 200 in the 34th but they are now behind the D/L as they move into "Blackwell in overdrive" territory.  We have to keep it tight and solid.  We are relying on Francis, Blackwell and Parsons  to do that and Andrew, Laraman and Parsons M not to blow it.

Turner is marshalling his bowlers but running out of overs from the men keeping the score down.  They need 97 off 10 when Keith strikes again bowling RMJ for 1 and setting up Mushtaq versus his nemesis Blackwell in his final over.  The ex-Somerset star is determined to get after him and smacks two fours off his second and third ball before holing out to Wood trying to emulate the mighty IB.  We have them at 216 for 8 and they have moved that to 221 by the end of the 38th.  Surely this is it.  Surely Blackwell and Parsons and Turner have done enough to get us home in this one.  We look forward to humble pie being eaten and quietness from the benches, which always comes with a win, begrudging acceptance rather than praise..but we'll accept that.

Van der Wath isn't finished though and goes after Laraman on his return in the 39th.  Turner turns to Francis at the River end to hold the flood and he does it manfully.  It's 63 off 6 but we are leaking at the other end.  Gareth Andrew is brought back on at the OP for the 41st, they need 59.  He sends a beamer down first ball which is slammed for four and then watches the second go for six.  He does pull it back but they take him for 18 and are down to 41 off 4.  Frank does what he can and 5 off the next 6 leaves them still wanting 10plus per over, 36 off 3. 

Now we all wonder where the captain's head has gone.  KP has not finished his overs, he has gone for 34 and taken 4 wickets, he has one over left but Gareth continues.  Now I'm all for keeping faith with a bowler and he has been known to take end of innings wickets but he has also been tanked most of the afternoon and they are after him from ball one!!  Woody drops Van der Wath off a very very difficult chance (it would have been a blinder if he had kept hold) and the mman goes to his 50 off 35 during the over.  Is it good?  Well he goes for 12.  24 off 2 - surely Keith will come on at the River end? 

Well no, it's Mike Parsons! He's gone for 10 an over up to now and again we have other options.   Mike Burns is quite a force in short bursts in these situation and hasn't bowled at all today...wasn't he a better bet and then have KP bowl the last?  Well it seems not.  Mike comes in and they take 5 off the first 3 and then 10 off the next 2.  The swing has well and truly swung back to Sussex and we are staring defeat in the face from an unassailable position of victory.

It's 7 off 6 and we need an experienced head!  Enter Keith Parsons....errr no!  It's Gareth Andrew again.  The guy has been slammed all afternoon and his captain gives him the last over with the opposition needing a run a ball for a tie!  Where is the logic?  Where is the sense?  Even if Keith was injured, surely ANYONE was a better bet. 

(There seems to be some speculation that Keith had words with Umpire Whitehead at the end of his eigth over about an LBW claim and may have been withdrawn from the attck but there is nothing about that in any official reports...there are also no comments on injuries sustained....curious!!)

They need four balls (quite an achievement in the scheme of things) and we lose by two wickets.  A game we had won, a game we threw away because our bowling attack was only half effective and we under-utilised the resources we had.

And the end of it all.  Self-fulfilling prophecies and smug grins from so-called 'supporters' who forget that they saw one of the greatest one day innings they are ever likely to because they predicted the defeat of the side they are there to supposedly watch and support.  And who can blame them when we are so consistent in our inconsistency? 

There's little more to say.  We should be on top of the league but we are an 'also ran' once again, where certain people are happy for us to stay and others try to find an explanation of how a side can reach such heights and plumb such depths in the space of about three hours.

One thing though, it wasn't a bad days cricket in terms of entertainment!!  On to Oakham.  Good Luck Greame, you are really going to need it!!

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